posted at 1:36 pm on May 9, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

Larry Kudlow asks the most pertinent question about Ron Paul’s continuing efforts on the campaign trail after Mitt Romney has all but wrapped up the GOP nomination, which is what Paul hopes to accomplish by continuing to contest it. Paul says he’s not ready to follow Rick Santorum’s lead by endorsing Romney in the near future … and why should he? He’s raising money with a low burn rate, grabbing enough delegates to have the party establishment worried, and putting himself in position to force some policy changes in the party platform. Ron Paul is having the time of his life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq6fqEzQLJI

With virtually zero chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, Rep. Ron Paul said Tuesday that he has no immediate plans to endorse Mitt Romney.

“I’m not thinking about that as much as what kind of presence we’ll have, how many people we’re going to have there, and what kind of an influence we can have on the platform in Tampa,” he added, noting that there were still plenty of delegates still up for grabs. “It may turn out that we may end up winning Iowa, and we’ve won a couple of these other states.”

Just how close to zero chance is it for Paul, anyway? Let’s assume that Paul can capture all of the delegates in caucus states, thanks to his organizational strength and ability to play the long game. Right now, Romney has 722 untouchable bound delegates from primary states, up through last night’s elections. He’ll get at least half of Indiana’s 46 delegates even if Paul can claw some from the caucus portion of the allocation, so bring that to 745 delegates. Romney should win all of the rest of the primaries by majorities, so California puts Romney over the top by June 5th no matter what happens. It’s over, and it’s been over since at least Santorum’s withdrawal.

But the endgame, as Kudlow puts it, hasn’t been the nomination anyway, at least not for Paul. He wants to influence policy in exactly the way he states in the interview, but more importantly, he wants his supporters holding the levers of power in local and state party organizations. That will make it much easier to move the GOP in his direction — and eventually give his son Rand a clear path to a presidential nomination. When he’s finished setting up his organization and generating as much in contributions as he can, he’ll give Romney his blessing in this election, because by then Romney’s win this year won’t matter to Paul.

Update: CNN asked Paul about rumors that his campaign planned to use its muscle on the delegate floor in Tampa to stage demonstrations against the Republican nominee, or at least the party establishment. Paul disavowed that intent:

PAUL: Well, it certainly isn’t for the reason of disrupting a convention as you were alluding to. That is not in my plan. That is against my plan. I don’t like that being a suggestion.

I’m in it for very precise reasons to maximize our efforts to get as many delegates as we can. I’m still a candidate and to promote something that is very, very important. That is a change in the direction for the Republican Party to be a fiscal conservative Republican Party.

To not be a party that supports endless wars and a party that would look into the monetary system so that we can understand the business cycle.

So we have very precise goals and we are being quite successful in accumulating more and more votes and delegates. Quite frankly, I think the reports early on that we weren’t winning anything, it turns out we did win some of these states like in Maine and Minnesota and these other places. We’re doing quite well.

COSTELLO: I want to ask you about that, Congressman. Your supporters do seem to be taking a page from Evangelical Christian activists in the ’90s.

They’re taking control of state conventions to win you enough delegates to get your name placed formally in nomination. I mean, is the goal to get you a prime time speaking role at the Republican convention, is that why they’re working so hard?

PAUL: Well, being nominated is one thing and you get to give a speech, but that is different than just the leadership conceding sometime and giving you a speech. One is monitored and one is not.

So just to give a speech for the sake of giving a speech and have it edited doesn’t have much awe peel to me, but I think moving in an agenda is very important. The best way I can do that is to maximize is number of delegates that we have.

Say what you will, but my experience in Minnesota has been that Paul supporters have organized well enough that they don’t need to disrupt the proceedings. They’re making themselves the new establishment. They look disciplined and focused, so a pointless disruption on the floor of the convention in Tampa would be not just be out of character, it would mainly be self-defeating.

Blowback

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Comments

Right you are. Libertarianism is about recognizing the rights of others. So, why is it Muslims don’t recognize my wife’s right not to wear an ugly black burka from head to toe? Why do these Islamists want to take away my beer? Why do they want to force public school children across Europe and now even here in the United States in places like Minneapolis and Dearborn, Michigan to learn about their culture and history, when it is completely foreign to Americanism? Why do they want to hang my gay friends from the nearest lamppost? Why do they want to jail my marijuana smoking friends? And what about bikinis at the beach? Why do they want to tell hot blonde American gals they can’t wear skimpy bathing attire? Or French girls that they can’t go topless in Marseilles and Nice and the Cote d’ Azur?

Why is is we have to recognize their rights, but they are not required to recognize the rights of us Americans?

ericdondero on May 9, 2012 at 9:41 PM

There isn’t a single Muslim alive who has ever infringed upon you or your wife’s rights.

as for your gestapo line of questioning over whether i’m a citizen or not, i find your premise insulting, and this is the 4′ time you have asked me in the past 2 days, you clearly think this is some sort of winning strategy.

golembythehudson on May 9, 2012 at 9:42 PM

Huh. Asking someone a question = Gestapo. You sure are quick with the Nazi accusations.

And you have no idea what my premise is since you haven’t answered the question.

I guess that they are for the sole and direct benefit of an individual company by Paul’s standards, and hidden so not to point how how Constitutional he is?

Kermit on May 9, 2012 at 9:23 PM

Nope. Paul believes that every single cent should be earmarked so that we know where the money is going. Otherwise some faceless executive branch bureaucrat spends it how he wishes. Our money is seized by government and Paul tries to return some of that seized money to his district. As a Representative, he agrees to his constituents’ requests. That’s his job.

Golem is obsessed with nazis. It wouldn’t surprise me if he is like the Marine dad in American Beauty. Talking about f— and then trying to make out with a dude. I bet he has a secret stash of nazi stuff in his parents’ basement.

And you have no idea what my premise is since you haven’t answered the question.

Dante on May 9, 2012 at 10:03 PM

how exactly is my characterization of them a lie?

let’s not play coy, i know exactly what your premise is, this isn’t the first run around i’ve had with a paulbot and if this site wasn’t moderated you’d be more graphic about it, and yes it is Gestapo like.

You once claimed Paul advocated murdering blacks, and then posted the piece, which turned out to be a piece on self-defense with the quote being from a cop, not Paul. Paul has never called the Israelis Nazis. There’s another of your lies. It’s all you have because you cannot debate his policies.

let’s not play coy, i know exactly what your premise is, this isn’t the first run around i’ve had with a paulbot and if this site wasn’t moderated you’d be more graphic about it, and yes it is Gestapo like.

golembythehudson on May 9, 2012 at 10:14 PM

Let’s not play coy? This from the guy who won’t answer a simple question.

It is the hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos. The youth simply walk up to a car they like, pull a gun, tell the family to get out, steal their jewelry and wallets, and take the car to wreck. Such actions have ballooned in the recent months.

In the old days, average people could avoid such youth by staying out of bad neighborhoods. Empowered by media, police, and political complicity, however, the youth now roam everywhere looking for cars to steal and people to rob.

What can you do? More and more Americans are carrying a gun in the car. An ex-cop I know advises that if you have to use a gun on a youth, you should leave the scene immediately, disposing of the wiped off gun as soon as possible. Such a gun cannot, of course, be registered to you, but one bought privately (through the classifieds, for example).

I frankly don’t know what to make of such advice, but even in my little town of Lake Jackson, Texas, I’ve urged everyone in my family to know how to use a gun in self defense. For the animals are coming.

there is no “cop”, it’s a artificial construct in order to promote premeditated murder with a illegal weapon. What i said was true, your defense of it is bizzare. His accusation of the Israelis running concentration camps does indeed accuse them of being nazis, your defense of this is also bizarre.

i’m not going to answer the question of my citizenship for the 8′th or 9”the time as i don’t feel it’s relevant, and it will just legitimize your premise which you want to promote.

there is no “cop”, it’s a artificial construct in order to promote premeditated murder with a illegal weapon. What i said was true, your defense of it is bizzare.

Thanks for once again destroying your argument. It is a piece regarding self-defense, not premeditated murder. And the weapon is not illegal. The advice was due to people being prosecuted for acts of self-defense, which eventually led to stand-your-ground laws and the like.

His accusation of the Israelis running concentration camps does indeed accuse them of being nazis, your defense of this is also bizarre.

He never said Israel runs a concentration camp. He said he looks at Gaza like a concentration camp. It’s called an analogy. Israel does not control Gaza.

Still with the lies…

i’m not going to answer the question of my citizenship for the 8′th or 9”the time as i don’t feel it’s relevant, and it will just legitimize your premise which you want to promote.

I have read plenty of posts by twerp and golem where they accuse Paul supporters of being closet nazis. That is their schtick and it is extremely vile and insulting not to mention completely false.

iwasbornwithit on May 9, 2012 at 10:52 PM

…twerp has somewhat eluded to RP as having closet Nazi tendencies, in some of his past history regarding the Jewish people…but I don’t recall her accusing “Ron Paul” supporters. Big difference!
If someone takes criticism or a personal opinion of Ron Paul himself, to INCLUDE themselves or all his supporters…maybe they are the ones following a wierd type of religion!

…twerp has somewhat eluded to RP as having closet Nazi tendencies, in some of his past history regarding the Jewish people…but I don’t recall her accusing “Ron Paul” supporters. Big difference!

I agree that its a big difference. But you are wrong about her not accusing Paul supporters of being racists. At least you aren’t defending golem because you know he does it on every thread he gets on.

I’ve said that the majority of Ron Paul supporters are Jew-haters.
My husband used to have lunch with a few of them every Sunday while I was @ work. One Sunday they started bringing the ‘conversation’ back to the Jewishness of supposed neo-cons. My husband kept changing the subject-and they kept going back-oh and Israel’s a terrorist state.
That was kind of the final straw for him.
No-he’s not Jewish nor is he a Ron Paul supporter. He was a Perry supporter(like me) who’s now voting for Mitt…also like me.

So from that one experience you decide to slander “a majority” of Ron Paul supporters? Simple logic should inform you how crazy that is. It’s one thing to disagree or even dislike the man, but it is disgusting to slime Paul supporters as Jew haters. I am a delegate for Paul in my state and I have never heard ANY Paul supporters say one single derogatory thing about Jews. Same for the pro-Paul websites I go to. I am pretty sure if a majority were Jew haters, I would know that by now.

You’d hate Lubbock. This place is the Ronbot/Bircher capitol of west Texas. They have waaay too much pull in the county GOP and have taken over the TP. @ the county fair last year, a Paulestinian told me that since I was a a Zionist…I was a much bigger threat to this nation than Zero. We also have a small but visible muzzie population that probably loves Herr Doktor.

I was VERY active in the Chicago Tea Party prior to our move west last year. Almost TO A PERSON-the Ronulans that I met were 9/11 truthers who hated Israel and Jews. There were quite a few RP’ers @ the TP’S-and I don’t recall one that wasn’t a Jew-hating truther. Not. One.
The only difference between them and the LaRouchies was that the LaRouchies had signs w/ Zero wearing a Hitler ‘stache. Ideology-wise there was pretty much ZERO difference.

You’d hate Lubbock. This place is the Ronbot/Bircher capitol of west Texas.

I like Texas, I like the people there. (Dad was a Texan and the man who I was named after, my Grandfather was actually a cowboy back in the day that it was something to be embarrassed about.) I just can’t take the paultards seriously.

” a Paulestinian told me that since I was a a Zionist…I was a much bigger threat to this nation than Zero.”

Tell him you would rather have an honest bigot than someone who tiptoes around jew hate with BS Like “Zionism is a bigger threat than someone spending us into the dirt.” A genuine bigot is less of a coward and decent people will get on with ignoring or getting rid of him.

I think you are making s— up or wildly exaggerating because you don’t like Ron Paul. Your experience is so different from mine and you can’t cite anything to back up your claims beyond the anecdotal. Like I said, if there was any truth to your allegations about a “majority” of Paul supporters being Jew haters, I would definitely know. I think you are just a big ol’ liar. If the majority of Paul supporters hate Jews, I am quite sure the media, or Paul’s opponents, would have brought that to the public’s attention. Actually, Mitt claims to be very good friends with Ron and vice versa and Mitt even said that he would vote for Paul if he were the nominee.. Does that make Mitt a Jew hater as well?

there has been a new crop of people who have recently started supporting paul for other reasons, due to the fiscal calamity we are in and who our president is, plus the weak republican field, but his core constituency has always been anti-semites, and truther anti-semites post 9/11, he’s been officially endorsed by stormfront who actively campaigned for him in Iowa, same with vanguard news network, same with David Duke and his political organization, and the list goes on and on,a few of his campaign chairs in several states including chicago and california are white supremacists who belong to the American third party, he was a columnist for the holocaust denying magazine run by notorious anti-semite Wiilis Carto for years

None of them would ever hate jews.… Oh, I should have said “zionists”, you know, code for “damn dirty Jooooos”.

V7_Sport on May 10, 2012 at 12:24 AM

if there was any truth to your allegations about a “majority” of Paul supporters being Jew haters, I would definitely know. I think you are just a big ol’ liar. If the majority of Paul supporters hate Jews, I am quite sure the media, or Paul’s opponents, would have brought that to the public’s attention

iwasbornwithit on May 10, 2012 at 12:41 AM

here is a perfect example in that link that v7 posted, there are a thousand plus comments on that video, i’ll just randomly select a few from the FIRST PAGE

Any American who does not know by now that the so-called Jews control the media has been living under a rock. Jews have worked their way into every vital and/or major position of this nation. They are a people that only make up 2-3% of the American population but yet they control the vast majority. Our Banking Sys,IRS,FedResv,Justice System,Prisons(private and﻿ non-private). Don’t ever allow them to trick you into thinking they don’t know where those billions Maddoff stole is. They have it.

they cry about holocaust – that in real never happened, but in reality they killed most strong and smart Germans and about 30 million Russians just during the war. After the war, during communism jews killed about 100 more million Russians.

Every white country is controlled by﻿ jews. I hope one day, we white people will unite to exterminate the parasite that drinks our blood.

and this isn’t a coincidence, every Ron Paul post on the internet is filled with this garabge, i’ve been reading it for years

The proven liar shows up to accuse me of being deceitful. Let me very blunt with you: you are a lying slimy psychopath. The only time you sow up is to hate on Ron Paul and even then you don’t debate policy, you just call him and his supporters racists. I am not going to engage you other than to refer to you as an example of an unhinged Paul hater. I have zero interest in talking to you because you have no interest in engaging in a grown up discussion.

The ones in Chi used to run around in shirts that had ‘Ask me about the truth about 9/11′ on the back. I hadn’t gone back to Judaism before we moved but on a lark I’d mention to them that I was born Jewish.
The responses I’d get were along the lines of: The Mossad was responsible for 9/11, my late dad must’ve been a banker, The Holocaust was a joke and the Jews were murdering-they never said ‘Israelis’ pali children..
FYI: My mom was born/raised in Ron Paul’s hometown of Pittsburgh, and my late-dad was born/raised in Iowa and had a BA from a CATHOLIC school. He tried to enlist in the USMC in ’60 but got PMR’d because he was too sickly. My dad was a patriot. My mom is a patriot. Ronulans are not patriots.

The Ron Paul campaigns (’88 ; ’08; and ’12) are not unlike the poor slob masturbating in public in a corner at the subway stop. One guy gratifies himself, a handful enjoy themselves by gathering around the periphery, it is noticed by those that are offended in some manner and they announce their displeasure, and the rest pretty much ignore it and go on with the important issues in their lives.

.. I have never heard ANY Paul supporters say one single derogatory thing about Jews. Same for the pro-Paul websites I go to. I am pretty sure if a majority were Jew haters, I would know that by now.

iwasbornwithit on May 10, 2012 at 12:14 AM

Your countering one posters observation ( objectively called ‘crazy’ by you) with your own. How convenient for your that your ‘truth’ is ‘sane’.

You’re “pretty sure” ? I’d have figured that the unequivocal testimony you offered might have convinced you to a much stronger opinion than “pretty sure”!?! In any event, being ‘pretty sure’ may provide some comfort to you, however, if you’ve not the intellect to determine the fraud perpetrated by Paul — then perhaps you’ve been fooled twice?

The Good Doctor has been voting according to his ‘own terms’ , as an inflation hawk since 1981. While his votes have been primarily against most budgets, the govt has (despite it’s ineptness) avoided hyperinflation.

Looking back on it, the same result would have occurred had ” Dr. No”, as his congressional colleagues refer to him, stuck with his medical practice.

Paul’s tenure is classic ineffectualness. Yep, just what we need, four more years of an ineffectual occupant in the WH.

I was VERY active in the Chicago Tea Party prior to our move west last year. Almost TO A PERSON-the Ronulans that I met were 9/11 truthers who hated Israel and Jews. There were quite a few RP’ers @ the TP’S-and I don’t recall one that wasn’t a Jew-hating truther. Not. One.
The only difference between them and the LaRouchies was that the LaRouchies had signs w/ Zero wearing a Hitler ‘stache. Ideology-wise there was pretty much ZERO difference.

annoyinglittletwerp on May 10, 2012 at 12:22 AM

I doubt they were, but I do believe your inability to listen to any viewpoint that might challenge your stunted worldview would lead you to believe so. After all, you call people birthers if they try to discuss what natural-born citizen means. So in your eyes, anyone who would say we should cut foreign aid to Israel (and all other nations) is a Jew-hater and an Israel-hater. I don’t think you could even begin to accurately relay their arguments.

Dante, are you still maintaining that Paul’s foreign policy is also that of the Republican Party before liberal hawks left the Democratic Party and infected the Republican Party and that Senator Taft exemplifies that?

Paul would have endorsed the bombing of China and expanding the Korean War? Is that what you’re saying?

My advice to Paul supporters: read stuff authored by people outside the “cult” and then make your own judgement. Don’t blindly trust on hacks like Rothbard, DiLorenzo, Woods, Hoppe, Rockwell, etc.

For example, read what Hayek himself wrote on money creation, fiat money and fractional reserve banking instead of relying on what Ron Paul says is the Austrian school of economics view of those issues. Read good history books.

Read James T. Patterson biography of Taft and Clarence Wunderlin’s anthologies of his speeches. Heck, read Taft himself: in the first pages of the “A Foreign Policy for Americans” he explicitly departs from the Rothbardian/Pauliste views on foreign policy.

You can still be a libertarian without the embarrassment of defending some of those guys’ silly worldviews.

2)Why revisit the caucus system? This is a federation of States, not a democracy, hence each State can do whatever they well please. If they wanted to; they could limit their system to a vote only of landowners, or exclusively to the State’s executive & legislative branches. Any way they want it and no other State has any grounds to contest their way. This is what State’s Rights looks like. Don’t like it, move to another State.

AH_C on May 9, 2012 at 6:10 PM

I’m not sure where this rant came from? I’m very much a state’s rights guy. States should be able to set forth their rules on how they elect their delegates. I never took issue with that.

I’m only saying that the caucus system within each state may be worth a rethink to determine if it really is working as intended. If not, perhaps take a look at what revisions can be made. That’s all I’m saying. Don’t we revisit processes in our businesses and our governments all the time to ensure they are accomplishing the task we put them in place to accopmlish in the most efficient manner and responsible manner?